Didn't flinch when I touched - then flinched in tank. Is he going to be ok?

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Didn't flinch when I touched - then flinched in tank. Is he going to be ok?

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Hello all :)

I am new here and wanted to ask your professional opinion about one of my mystery snails. This morning around 10am I noticed I could not find one of my snails in the tank and I looked around for awhile. I found him on the floor underneath a pillow and I quickly put him back in the tank (there is a cover on there now so this never happens again). I do not know if he was out all night or part of the night. Upon putting him in the tank I noticed he was very sluggish, didn't move at all - but he was alive.

It is now almost 9pm here in Chicago. He has not moved at all and I just took him out to see if he was alive. I touched him and there was no flinch. I did this numerous times but didn't have the heart to dispose of him. So I put him back in the tank and told myself if the same thing happened tomorrow then I would remove him. Anyway, after I put him in the tank, I took my net and wanted to see if he would flinch at that and he did! He seems to not move at all and SLIGHTLY come out of his shell (no antennas or anything showing). But when he was touched with the fish net he flinched. AND when I moved the tank a bit, he flinched too.

My question is will he get better and move around more? Perhaps it takes time. This is what I wanted to ask you guys because I was told if I touched him and he didn't flinch or move he was dead. But when I put him in the tank and did what I stated above he slightly flinched.

Mystery snails can survive outside a tank for at least several hours, due to the protective lid covering the shell opening. Leave it be, there is a chance that the snail isn't too far gone.
If you ever suspect it is dead, an easy test is just to smell it. Dead snails smell really bad really fast.

Yes to that! The smell test is definitive. If you don't smell anything when holding him close to your nose, he is either still alive or may have only died a second ago. It doesn't take long for a dead snail to start stinking.

Just keep an eye on him. Chances are, he'll recover nicely, especially if water conditions are good.